Return of the Ghost (Sequel to A Family’s Choice)
by Marialine
Summary: 17 years since the Ghost Crew left the Rebellion. No one but the Empire has heard from them until Ashoka lets out a distress signal, and the nearest freighter to reach it was the Ghost… Part 2 of Star Wars Rebels Family AU.
1. Emergency Prologue

**A/N Since the first part was given a good review, let's proceed to the sequel!**

**Part Two of my SWR Family AU!**

**Btw, this takes place at Season 3 (late), but Darth Maul ain't here, and Kanan ain't blind since the Ghost never encountered him in Malachor. Enjoy! XD**

**X**

"Agent Kallus!" Agent Alexsandr Kallus turned to see Lieutenant Lyste run to him across the bridge of the Starship. "There's an incoming rogue shuttle with a wild pilot. He won't respond to the warnings and is firing at will!"

"Release the Tie Fighters and aim for the guns." Kallus ordered. "Make sure they can't shoot then bring them in for interrogation,"

"Of course," Lyste ran off to the port tiger in contact with the Tie Fighters and their pilots. "All Ties take down that shuttle! Aim for the guns!"

"Copy that." One pilot responded before the Ties all flew out to take down the shuttle.

Kallus watched as the Ties battled the shuttle. He hid his worry and kept a straight face, his posture straight with his arms behind him. He narrowed his eyes as one Tie gave a direct hit to the guns before another Tie hit the engine, making the shuttle stop moving. It was then caught in the Starship's hold.

"We got it, thank god!" Lyste gave a gasp of relief.

"I'll head down to secure and interrogate the prisoners," Kallus turned and walked to the elevator.

He went down to the docking bay to see the Stormtroopers already searching the shuttle. They came out with two creatures; one male in a stormtrooper uniform and the other female in a mix-matched battle suit.

"Remove their helmets." Kallus ordered, and the troopers obliged, revealing the male to be the old clone Rex and the female to be Ashoka Tano.

"Let us go, bucketheads!" Rex snarled.

Kallus recognized them, but he didn't say a word about it. He gave a cough and turned around from the troopers.

"Take them to cell G-2." he said.

"Yes, sir," the stormtroopers dragged the two out, leaving Kallus to sigh before following.

The troopers cuffed both Rex and Ashoka then they tossed them into the cell, throwing their helmets afterwards. Kallus groaned and shook his head.

"Leave us." He told the troopers.

The stormtroopers nodded and left. Kallus entered the cell and locked it shut before facing the two.

"What are you two doing here?!" He demanded.

"Hey, take it easy, 'Fulcrum', this is our mission," Rex rolled his eyes.

"Alex, the Empire's been monitoring your latest Fulcrum transmissions," Ashoka reporter sternly. "They're getting close to figuring out who you are,"

"So you got captured to warn me?!" Kallus was internally touched but externally worried and frustrated.

"Nah, that would be stupid," Rex chuckled.

"We got captured to SAVE you before the Empire finds out," Ashoka clarified. "And we haven't got much time,"

"Of course we don't!" Kallus clawed the back of his head, gritting his teeth. "Do you have any idea how much danger you two are putting yourselves in along with me?!"

"A simple 'thank you' wouldn't be harsh, now," Rex grumbled.

Kallus sighed, but before he could respond, the cell door slid open, and Lyste appeared, looking worried and nervous.

"Agent Kallus, we are approaching Grand Admiral Thrawn's Star Destroyer!" He told the Agent. "He's called us for meeting in his office right away!"

"Fine…" Kallus hissed then he exited the cell and turned to the troopers beside Lyste. "Transport the prisoners to Grand Admiral Thrawn's Star Destroyer, in Detention Cell B-17,"

"Right away, sir," the troopers grabbed the two and followed behind as Lyste and Kallus walked off.

Soon, they exited the Starship, which had docked inside the Star Destroyer's lower hanger earlier, and the troopers led Rex and Ashoka to the Detention Cells whilst Kallus and Lyste went the other to the other way to head to Grand Admiral Thrawn's Office. They gave their cylinders as access ports to the trooper guarding the office then they entered the office.

X

"How long do you think this 'meeting' will take?" Rex questioned his companion was they were left alone in the detention cell.

"Hopefully not too long," Ashoka replied with a sigh. "Alex will be discovered soon. It's important that we get him out of here,"

"I won't be the only one discovered," the duo turned to see the door of the cell open, and Kallus walk in with his eyebrows furrowed. "I believe that there is a slight… complication…"

"What is it?" Ashoka questioned as the agent unlocks Rex's cuffs.

"It appears that Thrawn is very close to finding one of your Rebel Bases," Kallus reported, moving towards the Jedi to unlock her cuffs. "He's been using the range of my Fulcrum transmissions and your ships' hyperspace frequency to pinpoint the direct location,"

"We need to remove that information from his database before he succeeds then," Rex growled while rubbing his side wrist.

"That's… the difficult part," Kallus sighed, finally unlocking the cuffs. "The database is in Thrawn's Office, and, unfortunately, it is heavily guarded. We need my cylinder pass to get in, but we need still need to convince the guard to let us in,"

"We can always knock out that guard and replace it with me," Rex suggested.

"That would be too obvious," Ashoka shook her head. "I have another idea…"

X

The three approached Thrawn's Office, with Rex in the front as their 'stormtrooper'. Ashoka had only a hoodie on to partly cover her face while Kallus was behind them, his hands quivering behind him, yet he managed to keep a straight face on.

"Cylinder pass," the stormtrooper guard demanded. "And state your business,"

"We are new Imperial officers called in by the Emperor," Ashoka said, waving her hand in front of the guard. "Grand Admiral Thrawn is expecting us,"

To her relief, the mind trick worked.

"Ah, yes, the new Imperial officers," the guard nodded. "Grand Admiral Thrawn is expecting you. Please, present your cylinder pass,"

Kallus gave his pass then the three entered, the door sliding behind them as they found themselves in a huge, dimly-lit hallway. They went forward to one of the rooms and found Thrawn's Office.

"The database is in his desk," Kallus said as they entered the office.

Ashoka nodded and went to the desk. She turned on the database, a holographic map full of planets glowing red appearing in a second. She and Rex gasped.

"You're right," Rex muttered with a low growl. "Thrawn IS close to finding one of our bases,"

"We need to mislead him," Ashoka leaned closer and fiddled around with the hologram on the desk. "Rex, Alex, help me,"

The males nodded and rushed to help, with Rex holding a flashlight as the trio messed around with the database. Soon, the glowing planets changed and were all mixed up with different planets and moons.

"There," Kallus sighed in relief, wiping the sweat of his forehead. "At least that's taken care of. Now, we need to leave and make it look… convincing that we didn't do anything,"

He backed up and started to go to the halls when he saw the front door slide open to reveal Thrawn and two stormtroopers beside him. Kallus stopped in his tracks and retracted back inside before Thrawn could see him.

"Thrawn's coming! Hide!" He whispered/yelled to the two then he hid in the darkness.

Rex turned off his flashlight then he and Ashoka joined Kallus in hiding, blending themselves in the dark office as Thrawn entered.

As soon as the door opened, Kallus rushed out and entered the grand admiral's training room. He found the Assassin-Bots Thrawn was training with earlier and got an idea to help his allies escape.

Meanwhile, Thrawn had approached his desk and turned on the holo-map database. He looked at the glowing red marks and narrowed his eyes, studying them closely with his hand on his chin.

As he did, Rex slowly shuffled closer to the door, quietly but quickly to be ready to run and leave. Ashoka, on the other hand, had her back turned to Thrawn, letting her hood cover her back and head as she peeked a little to observe the grand admiral.

"Is there something wrong, sir?" One of the stormtroopers questioned as Thrawn turned off the database.

"No, no," Thrawn replied, turning to them with an unreadable expression and with his hands behind him. "everything is just fine."

All of a sudden, the door opened, and the two Assassin-Bots came, crashing and thrashing about. The stormtroopers were alert and tried to shoot, but the robots knocked them down.

"Override code: Rukh." Thrawn ordered, but the Assassin-Bots didn't listen and moved closer threateningly, continuing their attack.

Thrawn took out his blaster, but the robots' metal bodies were too strong as they tried to knock him out. As the battle continued, Ashoka and Rex found the door wide open with Kallus at the opening.

"Come on!" He called them before running, and the two followed behind.

"Assassin-bots?" Ashoka questioned with a slight grin, clearly impressed.

"You're welcome," Kallus rolled his eyes, returning the grin.

Thrawn had, unfortunately, spotted him as he wrestled the Assassin Bots.

"KALLUS!" He roared out, which reached the ears of the agent, who flinched at the angry tone as he and his accomplices ran.

"That's not good…" he shuddered.

"Now we REALLY need to leave!" Rex pointed out.

Ashoka looked around and came to a stop. "Wait! They'll be waiting for us in the lower hanger. We need to hide and call for help,"

Rex was bewildered, but, knowing that she was right, he didn't protest. Instead, he turned to the agent.

"Any place we could hide?" He asked in a gruff voice.

"My quarters," Kallus suggested. "but we must hurry. Who knows how long they'll underestimate our decision,"

The three ran through the halls then Kallus opened a room and let them in, running inside last before locking it.

"There," He panted, exhaustion finally catching up to him. "We'll be safe, but I don't know for how long,"

"We need to call for help," Ashoka took out a metal box. "I can get a distress signal to the nearest freighter in this side of the galaxy,"

"But what if it's an Imperial Freighter?" Rex worriedly questioned.

"Let us have hope," Ashoka merely said before activating the box, sending a vibrating, distressing signal out of the room and into the vortex of space…


	2. Rebels Rescue 1

**A/N Introducing the next generation (my next generation, anyway) of the Ghost Crew! Too-too-roo-too-too-too! XD**

**X**

It was peaceful on the planet of Lothal. An old freighter was parked on the fields, a little far from Capital City. Though the surroundings were indeed peaceful, inside of the freighter was not.

"Ha! Plus 5, boi!" came the deep voice of the eldest boy with pale green skin and aqua green eyes in the group as he and his crew played a game of UnoFlip, which was given and taught to them by their aunt Gia (lol, me XD).

"Nice try there, cousin, but I also have a plus 5!" the deep voice of the eldest girl wearing manadalorian armor and having short red hair gave a tease as she placed a card on top of her cousin's.

"So do I!" the shrill, high-pitched voice of the youngest girl with lavender skin and nearly bald midnight blue hair with swished bangs came with a squeal while playing her turn. "Plus 15 on you, little brother!"

"Nice try, sister," the calm voice of the youngest Lasat-looking boy with lightly tan skin and long midnight blueish-purple hair was spoken with a smirk that could kill as he dropped the same card as his sister. "Plus 20 on you, Heron,"

"Son of a nerf herder!" the eldest boy, Heron, slapped his remaining cards on the table with a hiss. "Why???"

"Don't be such a baby, Heron," the half-Mando beside him teased. "Just admit that you are losing,"

"Damn you, Selena!" Heron snarled. "That plus 5 was for you!"

"It's called 'karma', cousin," the half-Lasat female giggled.

"Hush, Zelda," the youngest of the group gave the eldest boy a small punch on the shoulder. "Lighten up, Ron. At least it's only a plus 20. Could be worse,"

"In WHAT way, Elvis?" Heron raised an eyebrow on him.

"I could be totally burning you out in the open while we get supplies by pointing out the fact that we're not dating even when you say we are," Elvis snickered.

"Ooooh!~" the girls laughed at the solid burn given to the eldest.

Heron's blood rushed to his face as his eyes widened. He gave a grunting sigh, dragging a hand down his embarrassed face before standing up.

"Ugh, I'm sick of UnoFlip, anyway," he grumbled while turning and heading to the cockpit, where their old orange robot companion was waiting for him.

"WUP WUP-WUP?" the droid questioned.

"Not right now, Chopper. I'm not having the best mood," Heron dismissed him, slumping down on the pilot's seat. "I'm losing in UnoFlip because of them teaming up against me AGAIN, and Elvis's rejecting me AGAIN. Ugh, I wish things were a little interesting and different nowadays…"

"WUP-WUP-WUP!" Chopper let out a mocking beep. "WUP-WUP WUP WUP-WUP-WUP! WUP WUP WUP WUP-WUP WUP!"

"Hey, that's not fair!" Heron snapped at the droid. "I KNOW that he's not interested in me since he's very cautious with dominant males, but it doesn't mean I'm a hopeless soul! He just… needs time, and I… I need to be more patient. That's all,"

"WUP-WUP-WUP WUP WUP…" Chopper beeped a sigh before turning away from the boy.

Suddenly, there was a beeping sound, and the duo turned to see something white and blinking on the dashboard.

"What the—?" Heron leaned forward to observe. "Chopper, check out what's going on,"

"WUP WUP." Chopper did as he was told, linking the ship's dashboard to himself. "WUP WUP WUP WUP-WUP WUP-WUP, WUP-WUP."

"A distress signal? From where?"

"WUP WUP WUP WUP WUP WUP-WUP-WUP."

"A Star Destroyer?!" Heron was taken back. "There must be a prisoner or two in there! We HAVE to rescue them,"

"WUP-WUP, WUP WUP-WUP WUP-WUP WUP WUP WUP-WUP WUP?" Chopper questioned.

"Ugh, you're right," Heron sighed. "We need to get in contact with Mom and Dad first,"

He then turned and pressed the comm button. "Specter 1 and 2, this is Ghost. We've got a situation,"

"Specter 2 here," the digital voice of his Twi'lek mother came through the comm, sounding serious. "What's the situation?"

"It's the Tie Fighters, isn't it?" his Human father's voice came out digitally with frustration before Heron could even respond. "Be honest, and tell me it's a bunch of Tie Fighters that found you,"

"No, Specter 1, it's not a bunch of Tie Fighters," Heron rolled his eyes at his father's worry. "It's something else that the Ghost picked up; a distress signal. From a Star Destroyer,"

There was a moment of silence then his mother spoke up again.

"How far is the Star Destroyer?"

"WUP-WUP WUP WUP WUP-WUP." Chopper beeped the answer.

"A mile away, huh?" Heron's father gave a chuckle. "We won't make it back in time to chase after it. Ghost, you and your crew need to rescue the prisoner immediately,"

"As in… my crew and I get to go on a solo mission?" Heron's eyes lit up.

"Chop will be there to help you, so I'm sure you'll all be alright," Heron's mother replied. "Just stay safe. Oh, and Heron?"

"Yes?"

"I want you all back in one piece. You, your crew AND the ship. Got it?"

Heron snickered. "Got it, Specter 2,"

"You're in charge, Heron," his father sternly reminded. "We trust you, so stay safe, and good luck,"

"We'll be back soon. I promise," Heron said before he turned off the comm and headed back to the common room to see Selena and Zelda in an UnoFlip face-off.

Elvis was standing behind them them, leaning in to look at each of their cards with a grin. Selena calmly took out a pink card and set it down.

"YES!" Zelda placed her cards together and smacked them all down out once. "I WIN!"

"Dammit!" Selena growled and slapped her cards down on the table, frustrated as the siblings high-fived. "Eli, no teaching!"

"Hey, hey, I didn't do anything, Sel," Elvis raised his hands up in defense.

"Just admit that you lost, Sel!~" Zelda cheekily teased.

Heron rolled his eyes playfully at the scene, a smile threatening to appear on his face. His crew was annoying, but they could perk up his mood any day.

"Guys," He called out, their attention turning to him immediately. "we have a mission. A rescue mission, with permission from Specter 1 and 2,"

"A mission for us only?" Elvis raised an eyebrow. "What gives?"

"Some prisoner is letting out a distress signal from a Star Destroyer that's a mile away from Lothal," Heron explained. "Mom and Dad said that neither of them would be done with the supply run in time to help, so they gave us permission to proceed with the mission ourselves,"

"YAY!" Zelda leaped out of her seat. "We are going on a mission!"

"What's the plan, boss?" Selena asked with a grin as she too stood up.

"Take off and find that Star Destroyer," Heron turned to head back to the cockpit.

"And make a plan while we're on our way? Why not?" Elvis rolled his eyes as he turned and left for his and Heron's shared room.

"I'll get my gear!" Zelda volunteered with her usual enthusiasm.

"And I'll grab my explosives and paint, as usual," Selena nodded in agreement before the two ran to their shared room to get their weapons.

Meanwhile, Heron was at the pilot seat with his hands on the steering wheel then he turned on the engines.

"Getting ready for take-off," he said with a flick of a switch and a pull of a lever.

The Ghost began to rumble little by little until it started to hover above the ground then it turned to fly up into the clouds. It soared up and up, above the misty clouds, until it exited Lothal's atmosphere. It stayed hovering above the planet for a while as Heron sighed in relief, leaning back on his chair.

"That was quite a take-off," the eldest boy turned to see Elvis enter, his long hair swishing around as he gave a chuckle and held a colorful cadet helmet under his arm before sitting beside him on the co-pilot's seat. "Need more practice there, Ron?"

"A little," Heron had a deep blush tinted on on his cheeks while he ran a hand through his dark brown hair, all the way to the small lekku-shaped tips. "I guess I'm just… a little nervous and a little scared. I mean, this is our FIRST mission WITHOUT our parents. What if things go wrong?"

"We'll be here to make things right," Elvis let out a small smile. "We're a team, a crew. We've got each other's backs, no matter what,"

"Thanks," Heron smirked at him. "I needed a little encouragement there,"

"Just… don't let it get to your head, you flirty-ass," Elvis rolled his eyes, placing his helmet on his lap and tying his hair up into a pony tail then into a bun. "We've got a mission at hand, and I don't want either of us to be distracted and annoyed by your 'flirt' attempts,"

"Aw," Heron pouted as Selena and Zelda entered the cockpit, with Zelda carrying her colorful Imperial pilot helmet and Selena holding one Mandalorian helmet and carrying one spray-painted trooper helmet.

"Well, what did we miss?" Selena questioned as the girls took their seats.

"WUP-WUP WUP-WUP-WUP WUP-WUP. WUP-WUP." Chopper beeped with a digitally giggled.

"Oh, Elvis rejected Heron again, huh?" Zelda snickered. "How sad,"

"Hush." Heron hissed at them with a glare as his hand reached out for the steering wheel. "Let's just get this mission over with,"

"Alright, cranky-pants," Selena didn't hold her tone of mockery as she spoke and laughed.

"Ugh," Heron pushed on a lever and pulled on the steering wheel. "Chopper, track the signal,"

"WUP WUP." Chopper beeped in reply before a holo-map was shown in front of them.

"There's the Star Destroyer," Selena pointed at the blinking 'X' on the map, her voice growing serious. "Now, there are a bunch of Imperial Shuttles around it's sector, along with the Ties in it's lower and upper hangers. The challenge is breaking in and getting out without having to a battle a whole army of stormtroopers,"

"We'll have to take the Phantom," Elvis said. "We'll fly up to the lower hanger while Chopper stays in the Ghost to make a distraction in the upper hanger,"

"Good plan," Heron agreed. "Once the Imperials get distracted, it'll give us the advantage to sneak inside the Star Destroyer. Elvis, stay in the Phantom for the getaway,"

"Got it," Elvis gave a nod.

"Selena, head to the control room and set up the explosives,"

"My specialty," Selena grinned.

"Zelda, take the vents. We'll need another path to escape,"

"On it, Ron," Zelda giggled.

"I'll roam to find the source of the distress signal," Heron spoke up.

"It's too risky for you to go alone," Selena objected.

"I know, but I'm not risking anyone to come with me," Heron sighed. "I'm in charge here, and I'm suppose to get everyone back on the Ghost safe and sound,"

"Whatever you say, Heron," Elvis groaned, crossing his arms. "Just don't complain if you get captured and interrogated,"

"Oh, I won't complain," Heron snickered as he patted the lightsaber on his belt. "I've got my defense,"

"A blade won't save you alone," Zelda frowned. "I don't know why you're acting like your father,"

"Well, we are related," Heron gave a chuckle before placing his hands back on the steering wheel. "Now let's get going,"

Elvis glared at him as they zoomed off, following the distress signal. They went past a couple of planets and moons, swirling around some asteroids in their way before finally stopping in front of a huge Star Destroyer hovering over a planet.

"There it is," Selena gasped. "This won't be easy,"

"It never is," Zelda snorted as she placed on her Imperial Pilot helmet.

"That's the worse part," Elvis grumbled, wearing his cadet helmet.

"And the most fun part of our lives," Heron grinned.

"Here," Selena stood up and tossed the trooper helmet to the eldest boy before wearing her own Mandalorian one.

"Thanks," Heron set his helmet on him then he stood up from his seat and turned to their droid companion. "Chopper, you know the plan,"

"WUP, WUP WUP. WUP-WUP-WUP-WUP-WUP…" Chopper shook his head as he took over the Ghost's controls.

"Don't be so negative, Chop," Zelda reassured him. "I'm sure this'll be fun!"

"Fun isn't what he's worried about, Zelda…" Elvis rolled his eyes at his older twin sister as he stood up and left to head to the Phantom.

The rest of them followed behind him then the four detached the Phantom from the Ghost. Chopper flew the old freighter up and above the Star Destroyer before firing from the bottom gun.

Suddenly, Ties began to appear from the Star Destroyer's upper hanger, firing back at him at all sides.

"WUP WUP…" Chopper beeped with an digital groan before turning on his comm. "WUP WUP WUP WUP-WUP WUP-WUP!"

"Lead them away from the Star Destroyer then!" Heron ordered through his own comm. "We still have to get to the lower hanger. Keep them busy for a couple of minutes,"

"WUP WUP-WUP WUP WUP WUP WUP WUP WUP-WUP!" Chopper angrily replied then he took a turn to get the Ties to chase him in a different direction.

"Oh, don't worry, Chop," Selena have a chuckle. "It will be only a couple of minutes,"

"Approaching the lower hanger," Elvis reported as he steered forward and landed inside. "No stormtrooper in sight,"

"That's a good thing," Heron opened the ramp. "Now, stay here,"

"Yeah, yeah," Elvis rolled his eyes, slumping back on the pilot seat. "I know the plan, Ron. Cool your engines,"

Zelda giggled, and Selena grinned at Heron's glare as they followed the eldest out of the Phantom. The three rushed into a hallway then the girls climbed into the vents to get to their stations while Heron got ready to track the distress signal.

"We meet back at the lower hanger once I comm everyone," he told them.

"Understood, boss," Selena saluted before she and Zelda disappeared into the vents.

Heron sighed, shaking his head before running inside the hall to track down the prisoners.

X

"It's been an hour," Rex grumbled, pacing around the room. "You sure anyone's coming?"

"Yes," Ashoka replied with her eyes closed and hand raised near her face. "I can feel someone coming. Someone who is strong in the Force. It… It isn't a Sith nor is it an Inquisitor. It's Force signature feels lighter than a dark force user,"

"Is the person here? In this Star Destroyer?" Kallus questioned, sounding surprised.

"It is a male," Ashoka continued, her hand swaying to get a better grip on the other force user. "A young Padawan. He is getting closer, tracking my signal. If I reach in deeper, I might be able to get him to find us faster,"

"I think you better do it before Thrawn or any other Imperial realizes where we are," Rex suggested as he overheard stormtroopers running past their hiding spot and above on the other floor.

Ashoka took a deep breath and concentrated harder. 'Follow me… Listen and follow…'

X

'Follow me… Listen and follow…'

Heron raised his head up from the tracker as he felt someone call him through the Force. He stopped in his tracks and looked around.

'Who… Who are you…?' He reached in to get in contact with whoever was calling to him.

'Help me… please… My companions and I are trapped, and we need your help… please… follow me…'

"Another force user, huh?" Heron chuckled and ran to the source of the caller. 'I am almost there. Just hang on.'

X

"Ugh, why did Heron leave me to do a boring duty like this?" Elvis sighed as he leaned back and placed his feet up on the dashboard. "There's nothing to do! Snooze-fest!"

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, letting in the sense of calmness when he felt a disturbance in the Force and in the atmosphere. His eyebrows furrowed before he opened his eyes and sat up straight. His Lasat ears moved from left to right to listen while his eyes were all over the place.

"Oh no," he hissed, gritting his teeth the moment he heard stormtroopers approaching the Phantom. "Son of a nerf herder…!"

He turned on his comm to get in contact with rest of his crew. "This is Phantom! I'm being ambushed by stormtroopers! I repeat, I'm being ambushed by stormtroopers!"

"Oh kriff!" Selena cursed through the comm. "Phantom, get out of there!"

"How about you guys?!"

"We'll take the escape pods!" Zelda roared out. "Just go!"

"ARGH!" Elvis shut his eyes and gritted his teeth with a groan as the troopers fired on the Phantom. "Alright, alright! But once I'm on the Ghost, I'll come to pick you three up!"

"GO!" the three shrieked, taking the Lasat hybrid off-guard as he jumped, accidentally opening the ramp and falling off in front of the troopers.

"Shoot." Elvis got on his feet and grabbed his blaster with one hand while taking out his comm with the other. "Specter 3, take control of the Phantom and get out! Now!"

"WUP WUP!" Chopper let out a beep before obliging.

The Phantom's ramp suddenly shut before it's engines were activated. The troopers turned their attention from the boy to the escaping ship, their blasters firing at top speed as the Phantom hovered and sped out.

'Thank god for that.' Elvis sighed in relief, but his luck failed him as he heard footsteps approach him. 'Ah kriff—!'

"Well, what do we have here?"

Elvis felt his blood freeze as he turned to see Thrawn step forward towards him with Governor Pryce and much more stormtroopers than he had counted earlier. He kept his blaster, knowing that he couldn't fight all of them, much less the grand admiral.

Thrawn narrowed his blood red eyes at the boy, as if he was looking over at him and searching him for anything. "And who might you be, child?"

"Never saying, Imperial Scum." Elvis bit his tongue at his words, a low growl accidentally escaping his lips.

"How dare you, child?!" Pryce scowled. "Do you have any idea who you are talking to?!"

"I don't need to." Elvis crossed his arms. "I don't trust ANYONE."

"Very well, child," Thrawn turned away from him. "Troopers, grab him and take him to my office."

The stormtroopers nodded and grabbed the boy by the arms. Elvis was alert and immediately pushed the troopers back with one shrug, dusting off his arms with a look of discomfort.

"I can walk and follow with my own two feet without you… backsliders and libertines touching one fur on me." He hissed.

"Very well," Thrawn let a small smirk crawl up his lips at the sentence before he walked forward. "Walk this way, then,"

Elvis folded his arms again as he followed behind Pryce, with the rest of the stormtroopers walking behind him to keep guard. As they went through the halls, a certain overprotective and now fuming sister of his spotted them from inside the vents…


	3. Rebels Rescue 2

'Is this where you are?' Heron asked through the Force as he came to a stop in front of a hallway with three exits and one closed door. 'Hello?'

'Yes, at the nearest room to you.'

Heron turned to the door and slowly approached it, keeping the tracker in his belt before raising his hand up and flicking it over. The door slid open, revealing Ashoka in her hoodie as she stepped out.

"Greetings," she said. "I'm glad that you've finally found us,"

Heron smiled in his helmet, but his smile faded the moment he saw their companions step out beside her.

"Hey, kid," Rex, who was still in his stormtrooper disguise, gave a salute to the boy. "Thanks for coming to our rescue,"

"Don't thank me yet," Heron groaned, rolling his eyes. "We haven't escaped yet, and our only escape route was ambushed, so we'll have to get out of here the old-fashion way; escape pods,"

"There are three in this facility," Kallus told him. "They can fit up to two people in each escape pod, depending on the size,"

"Then it's a good thing that my comrades are slim," Heron chuckled before taking out his comm. "This is Specter 7 to Ghost, do you have Specter 10?"

"WUP, WUP WUP WUP WUP WUP." Chopper beeped, causing the half-Twi'lek to snap.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T HAVE HIM?!" Heron's eyes grew wide in rage. "WHERE IS HE?!"

"HE GOT CAPTURED!" Zelda's shrill voice was full of panic. "SPECTER 10 GOT CAPTURED BY SOME BLUE-SKINNED IMPERIAL WHO'S WITH GOVERNOR PRYCE!"

"Thrawn…" Kallus muttered under his breath, gritting his teeth.

"AND YOU'RE ONLY TELLING ME THIS NOW, WHY?!" Heron snarled with anger so massive that Ashoka swore she saw his visor flashing gold. "HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN?!"

"…5 minutes," That news didn't settle well for the crew's leader, who was now clenching his fist while one of his eyes twitched.

"Son of a—!" Heron was fuming now, his clenching hand now clawing and messing up his hair. "THAT'S IT! CHANGE OF PLANS! SPECTER 8, SPECTER 9, FOLLOW MY COORDINATES AND MEET ME HERE!"

"What about the explosives?" Selena questioned.

"LATER." Heron's expression darkened, yet he wasn't calm, which only gave a chill down Ashoka's spine. "We'll give the Empire the destruction they deserve."

X

The tension in the room was thick as Elvis sat on a chair, his cadet helmet still on him and covering his face as he glared at the stormtroopers around him and at Pryce, who was standing right beside him as they both faced Thrawn. The grand admiral, on the other hand, was grasping at another weapon he found at Elvis's belt; his lightsaber.

"You are a Jedi, I presume?" he asked the boy.

"Padawan. Not a Jedi." Elvis stayed firm, his glare deepening at Thrawn. "I just earned my lightsaber."

"Of course," Thrawn hid a grin. "you are far too young to be a fully-fledged Jedi Knight. I wouldn't be surprised to know that you are still a mere Padawan,"

"At least I've earned a title that's worth my efforts and my life." Elvis hissed.

"And who is your master?" Thrawn raised an eyebrow, ignoring the insult.

"My mother." Elvis huffed. "That's all I'll ever reveal to the likes of you."

"Understandable, I suppose," Thrawn turned away from the boy.

There was a moment of silence that soon occupied the office. Elvis was still, his breathing slow as he shut his mouth and refused to make a sound. Thrawn soon noticed that the child wasn't going to talk, or at least ask his name, so he would have to initiate.

"Do you know who I am, boy?"

"Does it matter if I do?" Elvis raised an eyebrow.

Pryce was irritated, but a short glance from Thrawn told her to keep her temper down as the grand admiral turned back with a calm expression.

"I am Grand Admiral Thrawn," he said, stepping forward to place a hand on the hybrid's shoulder. "I was placed in charge of any Rebel activity in this system. All was going well until there was a Rebel Spy, or 'Fulcrum', in my presence,"

Elvis growled lowly at the hand touching him, gritting his teeth. "How 'interesting' to hear, but I have no idea who this 'Fulcrum' is. My crew and I came here to save prisoners from a distress signal. That's it."

"I would assume that, considering you didn't even know who I am," Thrawn smirked as his grip on the other's shoulder tightened. "But I'm sure you'll learn Fulcrum's identity soon. And by soon, I mean now. Fulcrum is Kallus, Agent Kallus,"

"WHAT?!" Pryce roared out into rage while gritting her teeth. "I KNEW that agent had SOMETHING under that no good—"

"Pryce." Thrawn gave her a glare. "Not in front of our little 'guest', please."

Pryce didn't oppose and immediately shut her mouth. She crossed her arms and turned her head away, internally fuming.

Elvis, on the other hand, wasn't fazed with the info. In fact, he didn't even seem to believe Thrawn's words. Instead, he let out a chuckle of disbelief.

"Yeah, sure he's Fulcrum. Sure." his voice was full of sarcasm as he rolled his eyes in his helmet. "And I'm the Emperor's nephew. How realistic. I TOTALLY believe it."

Thrawn was fully alert at the sarcastic tone in the boy's words, but he chose to tolerate it and let it slide to not spark up the child's sass. Instead, he looked down at him, his eyes meeting the hybrid's own with only the helmet to block his complete view of the boy's face, yet he was able to spot a shimmer of blue eyes through the dim visor.

"Of course you need proof of this treachery," he spoke as he stood upright again. "You… rebels… are as untrustworthy as we are, always finding proof of loyalty before getting stabbed in the back,"

"It's better than being stabbed after you become too cozy with someone." And, of course, Elvis just had to get his mother's sass. "My mother had always taught me to not trust anyone."

"And yet you trust your crew to find and save you?" Thrawn gave a snicker. "You surprise me, child,"

"I never said that they'd rescue me." Elvis growled. "I'm fine, even if they DON'T rescue me."

'We will see about that…' Thrawn narrowed his eyes at the boy, a gleam of mischief sparkling over his blood red eyes.

X

"Present and accounted for!" The vents opened to reveal Zelda dropping beside the half-Twi'lek.

Selena came out right after her, landing beside her before turning to their leader with a hand on her hip. "So, What's the new plan, Specter 7?"

"You two get these three out with the escape pods," Heron replied, pointing to the ones behind him as he stepped away from them and placed himself below the vents. "Once you've escaped, signal Specter 3 to get you guys attached to the Ghost. I'll get Elvis back from that blue-skinned scoundrel. Where did he take him?"

"That way," Zelda pointed to the direction of Thrawn's office.

"Alright." Heron hissed before climbing into the vent. "Now go! Before any stormtrooper finds you,"

"On it, boss," Selena saluted with a smirk then she and Zelda ran to the escape pods, with Ashoka, Rex and Kallus running behind to follow.

"The room for the pods are down that way," Kallus guided.

"Alright, let's— woah, hold on! Wait a minute!" Neither of them stopped running, but Zelda turned to look at the agent, with her helmet hiding her twisted expression of disgust and disbelief. "What is AGENT KALLUS doing here?! I thought he was one of those nasty ISB Imperials!"

"He had become our Rebel Spy, or 'Fulcrum', a few months back," Ashoka explained. "Grand Admiral Thrawn, however, had figured out who he was, so we need to get him out of here,"

"Well, that was Specter 7's orders to us…" Selena shrugged, though it was obvious by the sound of her voice that she didn't trust Kallus, or any of them, for that matter.

"Argh, fine…" Zelda scowled under her breath as she picked up the pace. "But you two better be responsible for him!"

X

'Come on, Specter 10…' Heron growled at himself as he went through the vents, trying to sense the other boy with the help of the Force.

He stopped a bit and sighed then he shut his eyes and focused on the other's Force Signature.

'I know you're out there… please… reach out to me…'

X

'…reach out to me…'

Elvis's eyes widened in surprise as he felt Heron's Force Signature, desperately trying to find him. He noticed that Thrawn was distracted and entranced with his lightsaber again, so he took the advantage and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he concentrated.

'I'm here…' he spoke telepathically. 'Find me, Heron…'

X

'Find me, Heron…'

Heron gasped, his eyes widening before turning to where he heard Elvis. He picked up new courage and kept on crawling.

'I will… I promise…'

X

Zelda, Selena, Ashoka, Rex, and Kallus passed a couple of rooms and turned through the windy hallway until they found an open room with the escape pods.

"Alright," Selena sighed in relief and turned to her comrade. "Specter 9, you take Kallus and the girl with you on one escape pod. You guys leave first then signal Specter 3 to pick you up first,"

"I forgot the Ghost could only pick up one escape pod at a time…" Zelda groaned as she opened one pod. "Okay, but once I'm on the ship, I'll signal you and this trooper to go then we'll pick up your escape pod, clear?"

"Loud and clear," Selena nodded then the half-Lasat female entered the escape pod with Ashoka and Kallus following behind her. "Good luck,"

"To you too," Zelda then closed the pod and activated it, releasing it from the Star Destroyer and into space.

She grabbed the boosters and flew it a bit to get away from the Star Destroyer. Once they were far enough, she turned on her comm.

"Specter 3, pick me up on the escape pod," she said.

"WUP WUP WUP WUP!" Chopper beeped in approval before flying down towards her.

Zelda bit her bottom lip and waited as the old freighter came close. Soon, the escape pod was attached, and the Ghost went back to flying to avoid the Ties, letting her sigh in relief.

"Oh, thank the stars…" she leaned back on the escape pod chair as Ashoka opened the hatch.

"Come, the escape is not yet over," she urged her gently.

"Right…" Zelda let them leave first before climbing out then she took out her comm. "Specter 3, release the escape pod!"

"WUP-WUP." With that, the escape pod was released.

Zelda smiled then she ran to the cockpit, with Ashoka and Kallus following behind her as they were all met with the view of the battle.

X

"Tell me, boy," Thrawn set the lightsaber on the table and turned to the hybrid. "are you brave enough to know that your Rebel friends and Rebel crew are not going to come for you?"

'They ARE coming for me, you dim-witted ass.' Elvis bit his tongue to keep him from thinking out loud. "Yes, I am. If they escape without me, it's fine. As long as I know that they are safe."

"Words of a true Rebel…" Thrawn hissed, moving closer towards him. "I would not be surprised if you die in a day or two with your words, but lucky for you, I am tasked to bring any Jedi Rebel I encounter to either Lord Vader or my Emperor,"

"Then if I don't turn to the dark side, a.k.a be a Sith Lord or even an Inquisitor, I will be slain." Elvis rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know how it goes. I've been told SO many times…"

"Then you know the consequences quite well," Thrawn hid his urge to snicker. "Why do you still stay a Jedi if you know?"

"Because I don't break as easily as Anakin Skywalker." Elvis grinned, causing the grand admiral's eye to twitch at the spoken name. "Nor do I submit as easily as the other Jedis who gave up their good hearts to be the wicked Inquisitors they are now."

Thrawn wanted to grab the boy and throw him out of his office, repeatedly hitting him and making sure he suffered, but he didn't let his vision see red. Instead, he kept a calm expression, with his posture still upright and straight.

"The Empire was already too powerful because of my Emperor," he finally said after finding his words. "The Jedis were either to die or submit. They chose the right way to live,"

"It didn't mean that Skywalker had to break with them." Elvis retorted back calmly. "It was clear that he was only a normal Jedi Knight; easy to break and easy to fall into the hands of—"

"SILENCE, CHILD!" Thrawn grabbed Elvis by the shoulders with a tight grip and made the hybrid face his annoyed, anger-filled bloody red eyes. "TALK ONE MORE NEGATIVE THING ABOUT LORD VADER, AND I WILL SEND YOU TO HIM WITH NO HESITATION."

Elvis's heart began to beat faster as his fright increased. His whole body went tense while his breathing hitched, and his brain screamed for a way for him to get out, yet he managed to keep a calm mood.

"Okay then." he shrugged, regretting every word he was saying and he was going to say. "Take me to Vader. I don't care. He is nothing to me."

If only he had shut his mouth.

X

"Specter 8, you are clear to escape,"

"Copy that, Specter 9," Selena opened the other escape pod and turned to the clone. "Come on, Gramps. We gotta go before your nap time,"

"Hey! I'm not that old!" Rex frowned, but he entered behind Selena into the pod anyway.

Selena got into the piloting seat and activated the pod, which was launched out of the Star Destroyer. She lowered a little to give a distance between her and the Imperials before turning her comm on.

"This is Specter 8 to Ghost, we're ready for pick-up," she spoke out.

"Be there soon, Specter 8," Zelda replied as she was on the pilot's seat, with Ashoka and Kallus watching her seat from behind, and was maneuvering around the Ties that kept firing at her. "Argh, Chop, I need a hand with these Tie Fighters!"

"WUP WUP, WUP WUP…" Chopper waved her off as he connected himself with the bottom gun again.

Soon, he was shooting at the Ties, clearing a space for Zelda to zoom in. She neared Selena's escape pod, her grip on the steering wheel tightening in tension as she went closer and closer. Finally, the escape pod was attached with a click, giving Zelda a moment to sigh in relief before she leaned back on her chair.

"Specter 8, you're secured,"

"I'll be up at the nose gun to help you out in a jiffy," Selena returned then she opened the hatch and climbed out.

Rex followed behind her then when they ran into the ship, Selena came into a stop in the common room.

"The cockpit's that way," she ordered then she sped off to the nose gun.

"Right," Thankfully, Rex knew what she meant and turned to run to the cockpit.

X

Heron was soon above the door of Thrawn's Office. He noticed the guard and immediately went down the vents to knock him out then he unlocked the door and ran inside. He had only managed to run a few steps when he heard a yell.

"SILENCE, CHILD!"

"What the hell…?" Heron knew very well that Elvis was the one who sparked the angry roar, but at what reason? That was something he'd have to ask later on.

Suddenly, there was a few minutes of silence before an angry and annoyed snarl came. A scream soon followed, and Heron jumped when someone was thrown THROUGH the metal door. His eyes widened at the familiar midnight blueish-purple hair from the creature…

"ELVIS!" He immediately ran to his side, carefully holding him to see the half-Lasat's usually tan and striped fur full of bleeding cuts from the throw. "ELVIS, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!"

No answer came, and that's when the half-Twi'lek KNEW that he was knocked out but, thankfully, still breathing.

"A daring child, he was." a spine-chilling voice came, and Heron turned to see Thrawn appearing with an irritated expression on his face. "but he should have kept his mouth shut on matters that do not concern him."

Heron snapped as he carried his unconscious crew mate with one arm and took out a blaster in the other. "STAY BACK!"

"Troopers, capture them both," Thrawn ordered, and the army of stormtroopers came running in.

Heron cursed under his breath and kept his blaster then he dashed out of the office and into the halls. He heard the troopers coming, so he groaned and took out his lightsaber, activating it to let out the blue blade as troopers from other halls came running in to stop him.

"GET HIM!"

"STOP HIM!"

'Of course.' Heron rolled his eyes before slashing down every trooper that came to stop him. 'Pathetic waste of— you know what? I feel pity for them. I'm already taking them down, and now I'm trash-thinking them? Yeah, I think killing them or at least injuring them is good enough.'

After running and slashing anything and anyone in his path, he found himself in the lower hanger. Unfortunately, he had also found himself surrounded by at least 5 armies of stormtroopers.

'Yeah… I regret stopping myself from trash-thinking the troopers right about now…' Heron cursed before setting Elvis down by his feet and held his lightsaber with both hands. 'Now, time to take these bucket-heads down once and for all!'

"Surrender, Jedi." He turned his attention to see Thrawn step forward, activating Elvis's lightsaber to challenge him.

"Ha, it takes more than a blade to make you a Jedi." Heron grinned.

"We will test your words, shall we?" Thrawn got into a fighting pose then he swung the blade.

The blue blade met Heron's, but luckily, the half-Twi'lek was more experienced in fighting with a lightsaber. He made a quick move, grabbing Elvis's saber and kicking Thrawn to the troopers, which fell as the grand admiral landed on them.

"Tested and proven!" Heron deactivated and kept the younger boy's lightsaber in his belt. "Who's next?!"

"Fair battle," Thrawn wasn't fazed by the quick defeat, calmly standing up and dusting himself off from the fall. "but you still won't get out of here alive. Troopers, fire at will."

With that, the standing troopers fired, leaving Heron to deflect their shots back directly to them or to their fellow stormtroopers. Most of the troopers were already down, so Thrawn took out a blaster of his own and shot the boy on the shoulder.

"Argh!" Heron snarled as he was hit, stumbling back a little to hold his injured shoulder. "Hey!"

"I will repeat; surrender, Jedi." Thrawn took a step forward, the blaster still in his hand. "Or else."

"Or else what?!" Heron gritted his teeth, deactivating and keeping his lightsaber.

"Your friend here knew the consequences for Jedis not joining the Empire." Thrawn's grip on his blaster tightened. "Either you break, or you die."

'Of course…' Heron growled before letting a smirk slide over his face. "You are such an idiot. You have NO idea who you're facing,"

"A Jedi who is about to die with a fellow Jedi," Thrawn spat out, having quite enough of them for the day.

"How pathetic." Heron began to laugh abnormally and slowly into insanity as his eyes were repeatedly flashing between aqua and gold. "You pick a fight with a Force-User without knowing how much power he could have. You are such a disappointment…"

"Are you mocking me, boy?" Thrawn glared at him. "Because I assure you that your life will be the price to pay for your mockery,"

"No. It won't." Heron's smile was wider and crazier than earlier while his eyes turned gold completely. "The price will be YOUR life."

He reached into the back of his belt and took out a dark purple cylinder then he held it out and activated it, revealing a bright red blade. The stormtroopers were all frozen in fear while Thrawn's eyes widened in shock.

The Red Lightsaber of the Sith Lords and Inquisitors.

"Surprised?" Heron's eye twitched in broken irritation as his wide, wicked smile stayed stretched across his face. "Oh, do not be. There is more where that came from."

With that, he threw the blade and swung it around the air, using the Force to manipulate it and slice down every trooper in the hanger. Soon, Thrawn was the only one left standing as the lightsaber returned back to the half-Twi'lek's hand.

"You can't break what's already broken now, can you?" Heron smirked.

"So you can't…" Thrawn was still frozen still, yet his expression changed into something unreadable. "Lord Vader would be pleased to find a dark Force-User at such a… tender age,"

"Sorry, but I don't want another master to train me in something else I don't care about," Heron scoffed, turning to face an empty shuttle in his view before he bent down to pick up Elvis. "For now, I must take my leave. Farewell."

He deactivated and placed the lightsaber back in his belt then he ran to the shuttle at top speed. He set Elvis down on co-pilot's chair then he started to activate the shuttle, closing the ramp and letting he engines roar. He sat on the pilot's seat and pushed the nearest lever, making the shuttle zoom out of the Star Destroyer and into deep space.

'Finally.' Heron sighed in relief as he took off his helmet, and his eyes flashed back to aqua green then he turned on his comm. "This is Specter 7 to Ghost. I'm in the shuttle floating near the Star Destroyer. I've got Specter 10, but he's badly injured. Requesting for pick-up,"

"Copy that, Specter 7," Zelda spoke through the comm then she turned around to see Selena join the group in the Ghost's cockpit. "Specter 8, take the controls. I'll prep up the med-bay,"

"Specter 10 ain't doing so good?" Selena asked as she came over to the pilot's seat.

"Specter 7 that he's injured. Not the best sign," Zelda shuddered before running out.

"It never is…" Selena shook her head then she turned to see the shuttle approaching them. "Specter 7, hold on. We're going to attach ships,"

"Copy that, Ghost," Heron replied. "Don't wait for us to board. As soon as we attach, jump into hyperspace,"

"Whatever you say, boss," Selena grinned, sitting down and placing her hands on the steering wheel. "Chopper, I'll be getting closer to the shuttle. Get me clear opening for hyperspace while I do,"

"WUP WUP WUP WUP-WUP WUP WUP-WUP, WUP WUP…" Chopper beeped our to complain.

"I don't CARE if I'm as bossy as Heron! Just do as I say!"

"WUP-WUP WUP WUP WUP WUP!"

"Chopper…!"

"WUP WUP!"

"Ugh, fine!" Selena growled. She HATED it whenever the droid had a bigger attitude than an average human. "Chop, get me a clearing for hyperspace once I get the shuttle PLEASE,"

"WUP WUP-WUP." Chopper was satisfied enough as they neared the shuttle.

Soon, the two ships were attached, signaling the old droid to blast the incoming Ties. Selena maneuvered around the ones Chopper wasn't able to shoot then once the space was clear, the half-Mando gave a grin.

"Goodbye, Empire. Hello, Hyperspace!"

With those words, she pressed a button, and the ship soared through a speedy path of bright blue.

X

"Grand Admiral Thrawn, what happened?!" Pryce demanded as she ran towards him. "What happened to the Rebels?! How did they escape?!"

"Calm yourself, Governor Pryce." Thrawn simply spoke in a calm voice, turning towards her while he kept his blaster. "Get me a call with Governor Tarkin and Lord Vader. We have a sensitive matter to discuss."


	4. Trust

**A/N I've got nothing to say but ENJOY! XD**

**X**

"Phew! That was a close one," Rex sighed in relief the moment he saw the beams of hyperspace.

"Too close," Selena groaned as Chopper beeped our from the bottom gun to look at the new arrivals.

"WUP, WUP!" He seemed to cheer when he realized that it was Ashoka and Rex, clapping his metal hands. "WUP-WUP-WUP! WUP!"

"You know them?" Selena raised an eyebrow at the droid.

"WUP WUP-WUP WUP WUP-WUP-WUP WUP-WUP, WUP-WUP-WUP WUP WUP WUP-WUP WUP." Chopper replied in series of droid words. "WUP WUP WUP WUP WUP WUP, WUP-WUP WUP. WUP WUP WUP WUP."

"Ah, okay," Selena turned to the group with a nod. "So you're Ashoka Tano, Commander of the Rebel Fleet, and you're her clone friend Captain Rex?"

"Yes," Ashoka smiled in reply. "And you are…?"

Selena grinned and removed her helmet, revealing her brownish-red short hair and golden brown eyes. "Selena, Selena Mista Krai-Wren, daughter of Moreena Krai and Sabine Wren. At your service,"

"Daughter Of Sabine Wren?" Rex gave a snicker. "That's why you seem crazy in exploding things,"

"Speaking of exploding," Selena took out a button and held it up. "I haven't made the 'miracles' in the ship blow up yet. I'll have to ask Specter 7 when I can press the button. For now, though, you have to follow me,"

"Of course, Selena," Ashoka let the half-Mando and the droid pass her then the three of them followed her into the common room, where they found Zelda sitting on the metal couch, her helmet no where to be found as her eyebrows furrowed in worry.

"Zel? You okay?" Selena asked, sliding beside the younger girl.

"I'm fine," Zelda quietly answered. "It's Elvis I'm worried about,"

"How IS Eli doing?"

"Not so good," Zelda whimpered as she began to hug herself. "Ron said that the blue guy threw him through a metal door,"

"Wait, the guy THREW him THROUGH a metal door?!" Selena was in disbelief.

"That 'guy' you are speaking of is Grand Admiral Thrawn," Kallus chose to speak up to the hybrids. "And throwing your friend through a metal door is only the minimum amount of torture he has. He had killed multitudes of Rebel Cells before, in any climate and in any planet. You are one of the lucky ones to survive his wrath,"

"How reassuring, Kallus," Zelda rolled her eyes. "I'm still surprised that, above everyone in this entire Outer Rim, YOU are Fulcrum,"

"It's almost as if it's hard to believe," the group turned to see Heron, his aqua eyes stern as he held his stormtrooper helmet under his arms, but he didn't acknowledge it much and merely dropped it on the floor. "which it is,"

The tension rose quickly in the room as the door slid to close. Selena sighed, shaking her head before standing up and clearing her throat.

"Ahem, I think proper introductions is a necessity," she said loud enough for them to get their attention. "Commander Ashoka Tano Of the Rebel Fleet, Captain Rex from the Clone Wars, and Agent Kallus, a.k.a Fulcrum, this is our leader and captain, Specter 7 or Heron Kam Syndulla-Jarrus, son of Hera Syndulla and Kanan Jarrus. The girl beside me is Specter 9 or Garazelda Errica Bridger-Orrelios, daughter of Ezra Bridger and Garazeb Orrelios. Our injured crew-mate, on the other hand, is Specter 10 or Elvis Giorno Bridger-Orrelios, son of Ezra Bridger and Garazeb Orrelios, and Zelda's younger twin brother,"

"Thank you, Selena." Heron glared at her, knowing that she gave them the introduction not because she wanted to clear things out, but because she wanted to say his middle name aloud, which he wasn't really proud of. "That was CLEARLY not necessary, but thank you, anyway,"

"Daughter of Zeb and the kid?" Rex's eyes widened. "How?"

"I wouldn't be surprised," Ashoka let out a small smile. "I felt through the Force that Ezra had feelings for Zeb,"

"Hard to believe they had a fling when the Lasat himself ditched Bridger on my first encounter on them," Kallus pointed out.

"And It's hard to believe that you're Fulcrum," Zelda growled. "Same difference,"

"Anyway," Heron sighed, crossing his arms. "I'll be navigating is back to Lothal to pick up our parents, and so we can show them that we saved the three of you from the Empire. While I do that, the girls will lead you to the guest rooms,"

"Oh NO!" Zelda immediately opposed as she stood up and strode towards the cockpit. "Heron, you go check on Eli while I navigate back to Lothal. Sel, you take them to their guest rooms,"

Heron wanted to oppose, but the flash of vendetta in the half-Lasat girl's savage peridot eyes made him cringe, so he just nodded and left. As soon as her two crew-mates were gone, Selena let out a groan.

"How obvious that Zelda hates you as much as her father did, Kallus," she rubbed the side of her head, swishing her hair more to the side as her expression twisted into something unreadable. "Well, since it's going to take us a LONG while to get to Lothal with Zelda on the wheel, I might as well show you three to your temporary rooms,"

"WUP WUP WUP WUP WUP-WUP WUP WUP-WUP-WUP WUP WUP WUP-WUP WUP-WUP." Chopper let out a beep.

"Good idea, Chop," Selena grinned. "Go and help Zelda navigate,"

The droid soon rolled his way back to the cockpit as Selena headed to the hallway, motioning the three to follow her. The new arrivals obliged and walked behind her while she led them towards two rooms.

"Our parents had expanded the Crew's Quarters years ago," she explained to them. "They added four guest rooms to help with any extra passengers whenever we rescued anyone. You'll use these two; Ashoka, you take this one, and, Kallus, Rex, you boys will bunk on the other one,"

"Thank you for the rescue and your hospitality," Ashoka smiled and gave a bow.

"If you need anything, me and Zelda's room is this one while Elvis and Heron's room is that one," Selena said as she pointed to the labeled rooms. "If we aren't there, we're either at the cockpit or the common room. Got it?"

"Loud and clear," Rex replied with a salute.

"That's good," Selena turned away from them. "For now, you guys should get some rest,"

With that, she left. Ashoka, Rex and Kallus exchanged expressions before heading to their rooms to sleep.

X

"Oh, Elvis…" Heron sighed as he stroked Elvis's now-unbraided hair and held Elvis's broken cadet helmet under his arms while he leaned over towards the half-Lasat male from his chair. "I'm so, so sorry… I let him hurt you and… argh…"

He hissed, taking back his hand as he dropped the helmet. He held and rubbed the hand he took back, an unpleasant tingle running through it like a sharp and electric sensation.

"Damn it…" he let out a groan before he took out his two lightsabers; the Jedi one was a dark grey with a grey cylinder top while the Sith one was a dark purple with a purple cylinder top.

"Heron?"

The half-Twi'lek panicked, quickly hiding both sabers, especially the Sith one, before turning to see Selena walk into the med-bay. She looked concerned as she approached him and Elvis, who was still unconscious, but luckily, he and Zelda already patched up his wounds, and now, all they needed was for him to wake up.

"H-Hey, Sel," Heron looked away, hoping that she only came to check on Elvis.

"Ron,"

Boy, was he wrong.

"Hmm?" He slowly turned back to see her worried face.

"You were shot," she said, pointing at the wound on his shoulder.

"I'm fine." Heron growled, even if he knew that it was hurting him.

"You sure that you don't need a bandage?" Selena grinned as she held out a roll of bandage.

"No, I'm fine. Really," Heron dismissed the issue as quick as it came. "It was only a minor shot,"

"Whatever you say," Selena kept the roll and swiveled around. "I'm going to help Zelda get us back to Lothal,"

"Good luck with that," Heron chuckled.

Selena returned the chuckle as she left, both of them knowing that the half-Lasat girl was TERRIBLE when it came to navigation, ESPECIALLY when she was mad and not herself.

Heron sighed in relief when she left before turning his chair to the wall and ceiling, staring up at it like there was nowhere else to look. Or at least, nowhere pleasant to look.

"Thinking of something deep, Ron?"

Heron jumped at the voice, his eyes widening with surprise. He turned his head to see Elvis, his eyes open and obviously awake, even if they seemed tired.

"Eli?"

"The one, the only and the best," Elvis let out a chuckle, but he soon felt awful when he his throat began to feel scratchy. "Ugh, why does everything hurt so badly…?"

"You got thrown through a door," Heron answered, rolling back to him.

"Right. Damn it." Elvis cursed under his breath. "That Thrawn guy tried to kill me after I kept on calmly insulting Anakin Skywalker,"

Heron cringed at the spoken name before sighing. "Eli…"

"I know, I know, we weren't supposed to expose who Vader was before and during the Clone Wars, but I just couldn't stop my mouth from pointing out the topic," Elvis shrugged, flinching when his shoulders hurt from the movement. "Besides, it was Thrawn's fault. He wanted me to break like Vader did,"

"Or like how I did…" Heron turned away in shame. "Again…"

Elvis immediately sat up, not bothering to care when his muscles and bones ached at the speed of his movement as he grabbed the half-Twi'lek by the shoulders with a tight grip.

"WHAT?!" He roared out, his voice fuming with rage. "YOU USED THE RED SABER?!"

"I… I'm sorry!" Heron felt hot tears by the corners of his eyes as his face fell on his hands. "I… He… Thrawn cornered us! He shot me and was planning to kill us! I… I couldn't let him! You… You were already injured… I couldn't… I just couldn't…"

Elvis growled, but his expression started to soften when the other hybrid broke into tears. He winced, feeling guilty before slowly letting go.

"This is… ugh," he muttered under his breath with a slight hiss. "I know you were trying to protect me, but you shouldn't have wielded a Sith lightsaber like that. Your father would KILL you,"

"I know what Dad will do to me…" Heron wiped the tears, trying his best to stop them from free-falling. "I mean… I'm TRYING to stop… I really am, but…"

"I sometimes wonder why YOU wonder why I don't date you." There it was. The only topic that Heron was sensitive about, and Elvis KNEW it. "You turned your first lightsaber red, for Force sake. You made your first kyber crystal BLEED with the Force. Manipulated all your dark emotions with the Force, and look what it did."

Heron growled loudly. He and Elvis discussed this topic quite often when they were alone in their room. He HATED it when the other pressed on the topic.

"As if I'm the only one who broke his first lightsaber." he snarled.

"I managed to manipulate both light and darkness, Heron." Elvis snickered, taking out the blaster he held out earlier before holding it upright, so the shooting hole of the blaster was pointing up. "so instead of red, my first kyber crystal managed to turn into a more BALANCED color,"

He pressed a button on the back of the blaster, and out came a purple glow of a lightsaber. Heron glared at him before he took out a dark aqua lightsaber with an aqua cylinder top and threw it to him.

"I don't want to discuss this further, Giorno." He stood up and turned to take his leave.

"Nor do I, Kam." Elvis deactivated and kept both of his lightsabers, grinning when the other flinched at the spoken middle name and ignoring the fact that HIS middle name was spoken. "but one day, we'll have no choice BUT to discuss it."

"Not now." Heron snapped.

"I know," Elvis's voice softened as he slowly stood up. "For now, I want to meet the newcomers,"

The half-Twi'lek let out a sigh, feeling guilty since the half-Lasat male was basically giving up on the argument so easily, yet he simply nodded and opened the door. Elvis smiled and walked past him, but not without making a comment that blew Heron off into shock, surprise and disbelief.

"I don't date you because… I don't trust myself with you."

With that, he left to the common room, leaving a frozen Heron with millions of questions in his head.

X

"Zelda,"

"I don't trust him."

Selena, who had been sitting on the chair behind the co-pilot's seat, looked up at the half-Lasat girl in surprise. "Kallus?"

"Who else?" Zelda sighed. "I mean, Kallus was there in the Massacre of Lasan! He basically ordered it! Father said that Kallus wasn't even sorry for what happened,"

"He says he's changed," Selena trued to reason out.

"But for what reason? To find Lira San and make the Lasats extinct permanently?!"

"You're not hearing him out," Selena shook her head.

"Why do I need to?" Zelda folded her arms.

"Because you need to know both sides of the story before sharing the tale to others," Selena sighed. "Look, you have no idea how Kallus developed a hatred for Lasats and how and/or why he turned into Fulcrum, but we won't know by not trusting him,"

"We'll wait for a crew vote," Zelda huffed with a frown. "I'll bring out the topic, and we'll see what we'll do,"

"Fair enough," Selena chuckled, knowing she couldn't do ANYTHING else to change the girl's mind. "So… any need help on navigation now or…?"

"Yes, I need help. Now."

Selena grinned and stood up. "Alright then,"

X

Time passed, and the Ghost was still in hyperspace.

Ashoka woke up from her nap, refreshed and well-rested. She did a few stretches before getting up and heading out of her room. She knocked on the door of the room across him, and the door slid open to reveal a yawning Rex.

"Good… I have no idea. Is it morning or afternoon yet?" Rex attempted a greeting, but he ended up questioning it, scratching the back of his head.

"I don't know either," Ashoka replied with the same tone of unsureness. "but what I do know is that we have not eaten since we left for the mission,"

"Yeah, I'm starving too," Rex then turned to his roommate, who was on the top bunk and was currently letting out a yawn while stretching. "How 'bout you, Alex? Hungry?"

"I believe I am," Kallus went down from his bunk and yawned again. "I have not eaten since before I woke up from the nap that I had before this one, and I have no idea when was that,"

"We'll head to the common room to ask for food," Ashoka said. "Come on now,"

The males nodded and followed behind as she led them through and out of the hallway. They went to a door, and it slid open to see the four sitting down on the huge chair behind the round table, playing a round of UnoFlip. Again.

"I say… Red 7!" Zelda slapped the card on the deck.

"Alright then, sis," Elvis grinned and placed a Redo-Your-Turn card then placed a Reverse card. "Back to you,"

"No, no, little brother," Zelda places down another Reverse card. "Back to you,"

"No, sister-dearest, back to you,"

"Oh no, no, no, my dear brother. You play,"

"Ugh," Selena groaned. "Let. Us. Play."

"They're getting rid of their Reverse Cards," Heron whispered to the half-Mando. "Let them be. That's what I'd do anyway,"

"Fine, fine," Elvis took a card from his bundle. "I'll take the turn. Uno!"

He set the card down, revealing a Plus 2 Card. Heron smirked.

"Going to you, Sel!" He set another Plus 2 Card on the table.

"Very funny, boys," Selena growled with an irritated smile on her face as she took four cards from the deck. "Alright, Zelda. Your turn,"

"PLUS 1!" Zelda slapped the card onto the pile. "Uno!"

"Okay, I win," Elvis placed his last card down.

"And I ain't getting that so easily," Heron set down an identical card.

"Nor am I," Selena chuckled, placing down the Plus 1 Card.

"Dammit!" Zelda frowned and took four cards from the deck.

The older two laughed at the half-Lasat girl's predicament. Elvis snickered before turning to notice their guests watching them.

"Oh, you guys are awake,"

This caused the eldest Specters to stop the game and turn their attentions to the three arrivals. Ashoka came forward.

"Yes, we are," she said. "And you must be Elvis, yes?"

"Zelda's younger twin and the son of Ezra and Zeb, yes," Elvis gave a nod. "Ashoka, Rex and Kallus, Yes? Though for Kallus, it's… VERY obvious…"

Kallus didn't react to that. Instead, he avoided eye contact as Rex went beside Ashoka.

"You guys have some food?" the clone asked.

"We do have a couple of ration bars on stock," Heron replied as he turned to face them then he stood up. "BUT FIRST, we need to know that we can trust you,"

"How do we do that?" Ashoka folded her arms.

"You need to act trustworthy, duh," Selena shrugged.

"WUP WUP WUP WUP-WUP-WUP, WUP-WUP WUP." Chopper beeped, annoyed as he entered the common room. "WUP, WUP WUP WUP WUP WUP-WUP WUP WUP WUP WUP WUP WUP WUP-WUP-WUP."

"Alright, alright, cool it, Chop," Heron patted the droid's head with a smug grin then he looked back up. "All in favor of trusting Ashoka, raise your hand,"

Almost immediately, all of the Specters raised their hands. Heron raised his hand too and smiled when everyone agreed with him.

"Okay, all in favor of trusting Rex, raise your hand,"

Chopper raised his metal hand excitedly whilst Zelda and Selena raised their hands up after. Elvis stared at Rex for a while, trying to think of what he should do before he slowly raised his hand. By then, Heron was the only one not raising his hand, but neither Rex nor Ashoka acknowledged it, knowing that they were face-to-face with Kanan's son.

"That's 4 out of 5 votes, but majority wins, so…" Heron groaned. "Let's move on then. How about trusting Agent Kallus?"

Selena and Chopper raised their hands in a snap, along with Heron. Zelda kept her hands in her pockets, turning her head to huff. Elvis chuckled and shook his head.

"You know well enough the answer," he said with a tone of sass.

"3 out of 5. Majority still wins," Heron swished his bangs to the side with a small grin. "Sel, get them three ration packs from the fridge,"

"On it, boss," Selena soon dashed off to the kitchen.

"I'll be in my room then, if anyone needs me," Zelda stood up and went past the three, purposely but innocently bumping Kallus's shoulder before heading into the Crew's Quarters.

"Same here," Elvis got up and stretched then he swiveled up past them to leave.

"Just wait here for Selena to give you the food, m'kay?" Heron turned around. "If you need anything… I'll just be at the cockpit,"

"Alright, Heron," Ashoka nodded. "And thank you,"

"Your welcome," With that, he left.


End file.
